The Man will rise again tonight

BLACK ROCK CITY — Whipping like playa dust through the temporary streets of this temporary city in the high Nevada desert is that The Man, the wooden statue at the center of this "countercultural" yuppiefest arts and self-expression event, badly damaged by an arson attempt Tuesday night, will be re-erected sometime this evening. The Man's resurrection comes thanks to to the diligent, if somewhat cultish, dedication of the Black Rock City Department Of Public Works, a volunteer organization which builds all of Burning Man's public structures. But what of the corporate-sponsored displays of "green" technology at the man's base?

To everyone's great relief, the pavilion at the base of The Man remained unscathed after Tuesday's incident. Yeah. Right. We were real worried that the corporate green-technology advertisements at the foot of The Man might have been damaged, because you know, in this noncommercial atmosphere of free expression, it's vital that the sponsors are satisfied.

For more on the controversy behind the environmental exhibits, see Chris Taylor's article in Business 2.0, and a response from Burning Man's organizers.